Nogitsune Rises
by shadow343434
Summary: Shinaka Koko is a woman with an ablility to shapeshift into any animal, and the surrogate older sister of Naruto. Sworn to be his protector she will face isolation from her peers and her village. But as they both grow will they know love? will they gain acceptance? Rated M for some graphic descriptions of a violent nature.
1. Chapter 1- Nightmares and Promises

Nogitsune rises

I assume "Kitsumaru"'s "Kitsu" is taken from "狐", kitsune, which is "fox" in Japanese? Well, in any case, I would like to suggest more fitting name for your character; 姿変ココ, Shinaka Koko(姿変 basically meaning "shape change" and ココ coming from 狐子, which means "Fox Child" and where "子" is usual suffix used in female given names).

 **Chapter 1- Nightmares and Promises**

Shinaka Koko tentatively stepped into the shower. The scalding hot water washing the grit and blood on her body wash down the drain. The worst of it was on her hands, the dry caked blood peeling off under the water. With a sob she slid down the glass wall of the shower, head hanging in her hands.

The worst thing was that most of the blood wasn't hers.

She sat in the shower as it turned icy cold, scrubbing until her skin was rubbed raw. Starting to shiver she turned the shower off and dried herself off, being careful of the gash that ran diagonally down her abdomen and puncture wound in her lower leg. She re-wrapped the wounds, and deeming the other wounds non-fatal she curled up in bed, hoping it would allow her some comfort from the horrors of the day.

All night she tossed and turned dreaming about what transpired, as even in her home where she felt the safest, the nightmares still reached her. Most where ones she has had before, but others were as fresh as her wounds.

In the first she was kneeling on wooden floorboards eating at a low table set before her. Her parents sat across from her, laughing as she got Miso soup all over her face. Their features were clear, her mother's purple eyes, so much like her own; her father's short white hair, that no matter how much he brushed it, it always stuck straight up, but beside the sound of laughter and the smile on their faces there was no animation. No movement of their mouth as they stared at her. No crinkles to her mother's eyes that occurred whenever she was happy. They were still like the pictures she had to remember them by.

She saw two Iwa shinobi stalk forward, melding seemingly from the shadows at the corners of the room. They snuck up behind her parents and before she could scream the two-shinobi placed their hands over her parents mouths before slitting their throats. As she hopped over the table to reach her parents, sending neatly placed bowls from dinner crashing to the floor the scene changed.

Next all she could see was brief flashes of black hair, rocks crushing half of a young teenage body. That only hours ago was sitting beside her, laughing with her as they recalled one of his most recent excuses for being late. She tried saving him, but was unable to. His body was crushed beyond repair. the only thing still showing the tiniest piece of life was the three spinning black tomoe set against a crimson background, as red as the blood beating out of the boys body. "OBITO!" she screamed out as she ran towards the falling rocks, only to be jerked back in a flash of silver.

Then the scene melded into another, set just a few hours ago. The screaming of the villages and countless shinobi as they were battered aside into steel and concrete, or impaled by claws and flying shrapnel and misfired jutsu. The crying of the children, as they met the same fate or saw their own parents murdered before them, far more violently then her own. The worse sound that chilled her to the bone, and called towards the beast inside of her was the blood curdling roar of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Taller than all the buildings around it, taller than the Hokages' mountain itself.

She saw her hands as she smothered a child. The kid clawing at her hands, eyes wide and pleading her to let go. A large gash ran down his body. From the right shoulder to his left hip. She knew he wouldn't have survived, his organs had been shredded and his entrails spilled out of his stomach. If she hadn't done what she did he would have died a slow agonizing death. Her form of death was the lesser of the two evils that was killing him, but it still made her feel sick. She couldn't even protect a child, much less the people she grew up with.

When the child stopped struggling and his eyes lost the pain in them, she thought she saw forgiveness but it was gone a second later. Letting go of the child she lay him on the ground and closed his eyes, refusing to see the shocked and horrified faces of the people around her. Judging her for not letting a child die a long and painful death.

She looked up to see her surrogate father figure fighting against the beast, on top of his toad summon Gamabunta. She saw a the appearance of smoak as the toad vanished and the Yondaime's legacy falling to the ground. Moving as fast as she could she sprinted towards the falling body, muscles shifting beneath skin as she changed.

In her dream she wasn't fast enough and watched as the fragile body hit the ground, blood scattering beneath the tiny body.

She woke after that, sitting straight upright as a scream burst from her lungs, until her throat was hoarse. Feeling suddenly too hot underneath the sheets she ran to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet. She leaned down onto the floor, breathing slow, body shivering. She knew she had managed to catch the child before it hit the ground, but she couldn't get the thought out of her head. _What if I failed? What if Naruto had died?_

Thinking of the small boy; his ocean blue eyes and his grinning smile as he looked up at her bruised and bloody body, brought a small smile to her own lips. She had saved him. Saved the last part of the man who took her in after her own father died.

With renewed determination she got up off the tile floor, walked to the window and opening it she whispered into the wind: "I will protect your son Minato and Kushina. I swear by my blood I will protect Naruto."

The wind carried her message silently through the village, the trees and finally up towards the moon hanging in the night.

* * *

 **A/N Sorry for not updating for a while, I have been struggling with family drama while balancing uni, but I'll try to update more now. For the moment I'm updating previous chapters, adding more description and changing a few plot points.**

 **As always R &R.**


	2. Chapter 2- friends

**Disclaimer- I do not and will never own Naruto. Only the character created within my story.**

 _Thinking_

"Talking"

 ** _"_** **Monster/animal talking** ** _"_**

 **"** ** _Telepathic talking_** **"**

* * *

 **Chapter 2- Friends**

Shinaka climbed higher into the sky, slowing the higher she went. She wanted to test her limits, see how far she could ascend before she had to return to the earthly plane. She climbed until the air was too thin for her to breath, then she fell backwards, folded her wings and dived.

The air whistled around her, louder than her own beating heart. She let the bird's instincts take over as she plummeted, trusting it to know the right time to pull up. But before she could reach that time a shape suddenly jumped through her dive zone. She opened suddenly and too fast that she crashed into the branches of a nearby tree and plummeted into the ground.

"Sorry Kit." A voice said above her. Blinking slowly, she saw a spiky silver head man above her wearing a navy-blue mask that covered the lower part of his mouth, just over his nose, and wearing a slanted leaf hitatai that covered his left eye. He wore navy blue shinobi pants taped off at the bottom with white bandages, navy blue Shinobi sandles, navy blue fingerless gloves with a plate of metal on the back of each one, and a long sleeve navy blue shirt with the red Uzumaki swirl on each shoulder. Over his shirt he wore the standard green shinobi flak jacket, and had a kunai and shuriken holster strapped to his right leg.

Kakashi stared down at the white and brown peregrine falcon, smiling in that weird way with his right eye. "Oh hello there Kit. Didn't see you."

 ** _"Bullshit!"_** She glared up at him waiting for the world to stop spinning. **" _Kakashi_ _I told you not to jump above the tree line where I fly."_**

"Sorry I forgot." He said lamely.

 ** _"I wonder why I don't believe you."_** She said sarcastically. Many of the Shinobi in the village tended to avoid the place where she lives. She wasn't well liked by many of the villages, especially the civilians, because of her relationship with Naruto. They knew she lived in the forest on the outskirts of the village but not the exact location of her house.

The Hokage continued to let her live there as she was another safety measure. Shinaka was constantly roaming around the forest. She acted as a scout and a watchdog for any foreign Shinobi trying to sneak in through this secluded area.

Shinaka also knew her presence their also prevented most of the civilians and some of the more scared and weak Shinobi from entering the forest. Either to prevent them getting lost, that was a fun week, or to keep them safe from the animals living in the forest and the older Shinobi who liked to train in the area.

There were a few people who didn't hate her, like most of the clan heads and some other Shinobi. But others were weary of her.

There were very few that knew the actual location of her home.

Kakashi was one of them. They were teammates under the same sensei, and shared a mutual grief over the ones lost in the third great Shinobi war and the Kyuubi attack. He often barged into her home, either sleeping, raiding her food storages, or getting her to heal him so he didn't have to suffer in that white room jail they called the hospital.

She stood up on her legs and fluttered onto Kakashi's shoulder. **_"Why were you jumping that high anyway?"_**

"Gai challenged me to a fight to see who could catch you before you got too high." Shinaka nipped his ear with her hooked beak when he shrugged.

 ** _"You know better than to do that to a veteran Shinobi. If you actually caught me I may have ripped you to shreds."_**

"Maa, maa. I would have been fine."

"AND WHO SAID YOU WOULD BE THE ONE TO CATCH HER!" A voice shouted out suddenly. In fright Kitsumaru spread her wings and fluffed her feathers up.

Kakashi eye smiled at her, and she glared at him. "Scared." He whispered to her.

 ** _"No. It's the birds instincts. It's a defense mechanism…"_**

"That only happens when you're scared."

 ** _"Is not."_** She said, eyes closing in a pout.

Kakashi dismissed her poor denial by replying to Gai who had appeared on the branch of the tree above them. He turned to better look up at Gai. "Because…" He reached his hands up slowly. Realizing his deception, a moment too late she was caught up in his hands. "See I got her."

Shinaka struggled in his hands. She couldn't shift in this position with her wings tucked tightly to her side. If she did the bone would shift in an unnatural way, possible breaking it, or dislocating it at her shoulder.

She bit down hard on the skin between his thumb and index finger hard enough to draw blood, and with a slight yelp, which he denied happened a moment later, he let go and she fluttered up to land on Gai's shoulder.

She preened her feathers as Kakashi glared at her, rubbing the spot where she bit him. **_"I told you to stop doing that. I may be smaller than you in this form, but a peregrine falcon has sharp claws and a killer beak."_** She snapped her beak at him. **_"Literally."_**

"Maa, Maa."

"WHY DON'T YOU JOIN US FOR A YOUTHFUL SPAR." Gai yelled. Shinaka shrieked as the sound assaulted her ear and wacked him on the head with her wind.

 ** _"I told you to stop yelling in my ear. And I'll join in a few hours at one of the training grounds, I need to finish my patrol around here. A couple of kids have been sneaking in because of a stupid dare going around, and the hokage is worried."_**

"Which means you will be the one to scare them off?" Kakashi tilted his head.

 ** _"Precisely."_** She fluttered off Gai's shoulder, saying goodbye as she flew up into the air.

"Uh. Where did she tell us to meet her?" They both sweat dropped as Shinaka left.

* * *

 **A/N Thanks for the reviews my readers. This is a bit of a boring chapter but I wanted to set up her relationship with Kakashi and Gai a bit. In the next chapter we will see her spar with the villages two top Shinobi and her interactions with the almost genin in the village.**


	3. Chapter 3- Friendly sparing

**Disclaimer- I do not and will never own Naruto. Only the character created within my story.**

 _Thinking_

"Talking"

 ** _"_** **Monster/animal talking _"_**

 **" _Telepathic talking_ "**

 **Thank you to all those that replied.**

 **ZeroKaze: Thanks for the name suggestion and I have gone back and changed the name. I was originally trying to find a good name that would fit my character but I don't know any Japanese so it was a bit hard to find something. Thank you.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3- Friendly sparing**

Shinaka finished her patrol and returned home, unsuccessful in finding any of the children who had been sneaking in. She did find traces; hastily made fires, toys and food wrappers. Perhaps it was a dare by the younger generations. She would have a talk with Iruka tomorrow, see if he had heard any of the academy students talking about it.

Shinaka's house was hard to see in the dense forest that lay beneath the west side of the hokage's mountain. The home had a genjutsu placed on it, maintained by fuinjutsu seals. All she had to do was top them up occasionally with chakra and anyone who came close to the house would be turned away, forgetting why they came. It only allowed those whose blood she let into the seal, such as herself, the Hokage and a few shinobi, in.

She flew through an open window on the bottom floor only to find Gai and Kakashi arm wrestling on her living room table. She ignored them and flew upstairs to her bedroom. As she shifted back into her human form she groaned as muscles and bones shifted from the bird's hollow bones to the dense ones of humans. Her feathers melding together into skin, turning from grey to peach.

The shift lasted less than a minute. Shifting didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable, like moving stiff muscles.

She tried to avoid shifting outside or she would risk being seen naked. When she shifted her clothes did not shift along with her. The first time she discovered this she was naked in the middle of the village. She was so embarrassed that she immediately turned into a small cat and ran away.

She looked at the mirror on the dresser opposite a king-sized bed, tying her hair up so that it wouldn't fall in her face during training later. Her human form had long white hair, height just shorter than Kakashi.

She wrapped her breasts behind white bandages in a tight binding and placed a long-sleeved shinobi mesh shirt over it. Then zipped up a blue sleeveless hoodie, with an orange trim. On the back displayed proudly was a red Uzumaki swirl to remember her surrogate mother. She wore simple black shinobi pants tapped off at the bottom with more bandages. A Kunai holster with more bandages was attached to her left hip.

Strung over her front and back was a brown leather holder holding her bow staff on her back. She tucked a pair of black steel daggers, with a curved black blade like a fang into holders at the bottom of her back. She most likely wouldn't need it for a light spar, but she felt safer having them on her.

Lastly, she placed her Hitatai loosely around her neck so that if she shifted it would still stay on.

After changing she walked out the double doors leading to a deck that wrapped around the top half of the building. Kneeling on the ground she bit her thumb. She went through several hand seals then slammed her hand into the ground. "Summoning no jutsu." She shouted as she mentally called the summons she wanted.

When the smoke accompanying the jutsu subsided two wolves stood before her. The first, a male was panting and wagging his tail, a large smile on his face. His fur was like grass, with a lighter color fur on his underside, around his eyes and mouth, and the tip of his ears and paws. His eyes were the color of a pink rose, glimmering in the sunshine.

The other wolf was a female, slimmer than the stockier male, with long legs perfect for running. Her fur was a dark midnight, almost black, that blended into lighter crystal blue fur on the tip of her tail, ears and the fur on her head. The fur was thicker around her neck, and half of it fell over her left eye. Her eyes, the same shade as the tip of her fur, looked around the balcony disinterested in what she was seeing.

Quickly she told them to keep an eye out while she trained, but not to approach the kids in case they frightened them away.

"I thought I told you I would meet you at the training ground?" She said as she walked back downstairs. Upstairs had the bathroom, two bedrooms and an upper deck circling the whole top of the house, fringed with vines.

Downstairs consisted of a wide-open layout. One wall was lined top to bottom with bookshelves containing several books and scrolls. On another a kitchen sat into the wall with a small kitchen island separating it from the rest of the space. Opposite the kitchen sat a large stone fireplace with several chairs around it and a table in-between.

A door opposite the bookshelves led into the garden. It was separated from the forest by a cobblestone wall, on which long creeping vines grew. Already turning into a dark red as autumn approached.

Kakashi and Gai looked up at her, arms still locked in an arm wrestle on the kitchen island. "IN YOUR YOUTHFULNESS YOU FORGOT TO TELL US WHERE TO MEET YOU!." Gai yelled out.

Shinaka winced at his tone and wacked him on the head with her bo. "I TOLD YOU TO STOP YELLING!" she yelled back. Sighing with a small tick appearing on her forward she told them. "We'll go to training ground 30. But not for too long I promised Iruka I would stop by the academy to show some of the students' shinobi survival skills."

* * *

They arrived at the training ground soon after. Like most of the other training grounds it had a large grassy area, but off to the side a vast stone space stood there. Big rocks scattered around the place, perfect to practice ninjutsu on. It was an old abandoned quarrel, destroyed and determined structurally unsafe after the Kyuubi attack.

Now it was the perfect place for Jonin and a few strong chunin to train. The rocks kept the surrounding forest from being destroyed during training and sparing. But if your reflexes were not fast enough sometimes the rocks would fall on you.

Thinking this Shinaka had a brief flashback to Obito, but quickly shook her head to dismiss the thought. It was not good to dwell on the past.

They stood in the middle of the clearing and faced each other.

"What are the limits?" Shinaka asked.

"Just taijutsu, no sharigan, shifting or weights." Gai replied. They nodded at each other and leaped back. Shinaka jumped towards the rocks and crouched in the shadow of two rocks leaning into each other. She scanned the clearing, before calming herself.

She felt a presence behind her suddenly and swiveled, crossing her arms as a kick aimed for her navel. It sent her flying back into the clearing, where Kakashi kicked her down into the ground. She rolled away as his leg came down again and crouched looking up at him.

She flipped back as another fist came flying at her head. It was a shadow clone of Kakashi. Both came running towards her. The clone reached her first and she kicked his arm away as he aimed for her midriff. She hit him back in the head, dispersing him.

Kakashi moved around the cloud of smoke and hit her in the shoulder with a right hook. Moving with it she dropped to the ground and kicked back at his legs. He jumped back avoiding her blow. They both ran forward and moved in a complicated rhythm of hit, dodge, block, hit, block, dodge.

It was during this time that Shinaka felt the most at peace. Thinking nothing about the battle and your next move. No complications of loss, worry and any other human emotions that only brought sorrow when everything had been taken away.

The two continued in their rhythm until a shadow fell across them. Reacting quickly, they leaped away as an orange leg came crashing into the ground between them. Shinaka hurriedly ran forward and spun a kick at Gai's head hoping to catch him off guard. But Gai was the fastest among them and quickly grabbed her leg and spun her towards Kakashi. Surprised Kakashi was knocked down with her and they both went rolling along the ground.

Quickly they got up as Gai ran towards them, and all three engaged in a one for all fight. When one kicked, the other blocked while trying to hit the third.

They were broken out of their rhythm when a kunai pierced the space between them. As one they all turned to where the kunai came from and stood in a defensive position scanning the clearing.

They relaxed when they saw Anko standing at the tree line. Anko approached them. "Hey can I join you?" Seeing Shinaka with them she raised an eyebrow and pointed out, "Shinaka weren't you meant to be at the academy an hour ago?"

Looking at the position of the sun she quickly brought both hand to her head. "Oh shit." She turned and hurriedly ran in the direction of the academy. "Sorry guys got to dash." She waved as she ran.

"I swear your tardiness is running off on her." Anko said as they blinked at Shinaka's sudden disappearance.

* * *

 **My first ever fight sequence** **. Please tell me how I did it took me so long to figure out how to write it.**

 **Update: I finally decided to do wolves, because foxes just seemed so cliché.**


	4. Chapter 4- Little brothers

**Disclaimer- I do not and will never own Naruto. Only the characters created within my story.**

 _Thinking_

"Talking"

 ** _"_** **Monster/animal talking _"_**

 **" _Telepathic talking_ "**

 **A/N I'm going to try and use some Japanese phrases and honorifics, this is my first time doing so and sorry if I accidentally do some of it wrong. I'm still looking for a beta reader who can help me with some mistakes and translations. Thanks to all those who favorited my story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4- little brothers**

Shinaka arrived at the left window of Iruka's classroom in the academy. Iruka stood behind his desk, rubbing the scar over his nose as he kept staring at the clock behind him. Shinaka looked at the clock as well and noticed it was half past two. Half an hour after she was supposed to arrive.

Most of the students were talking animatedly to each other as they waited. While others were staring at the blackboard, wishing for the day to end.

She saw Shikamaru, Ino and Choji sitting in the middle row at the front. Shikamaru sat the closest to her, his head resting on his arms, most likely asleep. Choji sat in the middle munching loudly on his chips, while Ino next to him looked on disgusted by his loud eating.

At the top left sat Hinata, between Kiba and Shino. Kiba sat next to the window and was talking to Shino and Hinata. He was telling them about the new nin-dog he got a couple of days ago. It was at home now being checked over by his mother to see if he was fit and all his vaccinations were up to date. He didn't have it with him in class but Tsume said he could take him on the survival trip as a bonding exercise. Shino was mostly silent, but Hinata stuttered in a quiet response at the right moments while occasionally looking towards Naruto who was sitting in the row behind Shikamaru.

Naruto sat next to Sakura, who sat between him and Sasuke. His had his head on his folded arms and even with her advanced hearing she could barely hear him whisper something about stuck-up Uchihas. Most likely because his crush was trying to get a conversation from Sasuke. Who was ignoring her as he brooded at the desk before him.

Shinaka always enjoyed visiting the academy. The children's' emotions were always so light, even when they were angry, it was a fraction of the emotions felt by adults. It was a nice break from the shinobi and vindictive civilians surrounding her daily life. People tended to lose their innocence and joy in the world around them as they grow, and everything became more normalized.

She opened the window silently and dropped a smoke bomb at Iruka's feet, startling his students into silence. She looked intimidating as her dark purple eyes seemed to glow in the thick white smoke.

When the smoke cleared a couple of the kids shouted out "Shinaka!" in a happy surprise. It was mostly the clan children and Naruto. Sasuke and Shino were silent, but she felt one of Shino's kikaichū on her shoulder, telling her he was pleased to see her. She carefully allowed the bug to crawl on her hand and whispering a quick, "it's good to see you too", she let it fly back to the Aburame heir.

The other civilian kids looked at her in disgust, mimicking how their parents looked at her. Most of the clan kids knew her however as she often helped out at their clan compounds, as their parents were her former classmates and held nothing personal against her or Naruto. Aside from the occasional prank, some of which she helped him perform. That made them and their kids precious in her mind.

"Next time use the door Shinaka-san." Iruka said between cough's, waving his hand around to clear the smoke.

"Sorry." She replied, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish smile.

Naruto was first out of his seat and she was caught off guard when he unexpectedly gave her a big hug around the waist. "Ne-chan. Ne-chan. What are you doing here?"

Shinaka knelt and hugged him back. She reveled in his familiar scent and waves of joy radiating off him for a moment before standing up again. "I'm here to help with the survival exercise you are doing this week."

"But we're not going for another two days." Naruto said looking up at her.

"I know, Ototo," Shinaka said rubbing his head. "but Iruka-san wanted me to give the class a few pointers and warnings before we spend the whole week in the forest. I'm going to tell you a few things about hunting, gathering and how to survive in the forest with limited rations. That means tonight you will pack a single bag for tomorrow and only bring the things you need."

"And for those of you who think you are able to bring extra food and things for entertainment we will be checking your bags in the morning." Iruka added. "You will be allowed to ask your parents for help, but for the few of you who don't have any shinobi parents to help you Shinaka and I will be available to help after school today or early in the morning."

Most of the kids whined at this. "This is so troublesome.", ""Yuck. I'm going to get mud all over myself." Was a few of their replies, while the ones who were looking forward to it shouted out their excitement.

"Ok class settle down. Settle down." When the class continued to chatter loudly amongst themselves Iruka used his patent Big Head no Jutsu, "I SAID SETTLE DOWN." The kids soon stopped talking and listened to their teacher. "I know I told you how to survive in the wild, but in practice it is harder than in theory. The first thing we are going to do is tell you is what a shinobi should always carry in their bags in case of emergency."

Naruto, who had jumped back in fright from Iruka's sudden yell, quickly adjusted his green goggles on his head before running back to his seat.

Shinaka noticed with some amusement the jealous glare Sasuke sent towards Naruto. She was never close to the Uchiha's, but during her time in the Anbu she had come to respect Sasuke's older brother Itachi. It was a tremendous shock when he killed his entire clan. That was only two weeks ago. She thought Sasuke would need to take more time off from school to get over the shock of his family's massacre. He was here now, appearing composed on the outside, but there was no happiness in his heart. Only a deep hatred. It was no good for him to be here so soon after the massacre.

When Iruka sent her a pointed look Shinaka cleared her throat. "The first thing you should always have on you is some sort of tool or weapon you can use to cut and hunt with. You should also bring flint and steel to light a fire, a sleeping bag for cold nights, a few shinobi ration bars, something to hold water. In the future you may add other items that you might find useful such as your own shinobi gear, but these are the items you will need the most."

Iruka started again when Shinaka finished talking. "Tomorrow we will help you further. I will be your main sensei, but Shinaka will be helping out and keeping us safe."

"But Iruka what is there to worry about out there?"


	5. Chapter 5- Demons

**A/N this chapter edit has the biggest change to it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5- Nogitsune**

Iruka Umino knew it was a bad idea to tell the children who was joining them two days before going away. Many of the parents were already upset that the 'Demon Child' was going, but the presence of Naruto's self-proclaimed older sister was the catalyst for a major uproar. Her association with Naruto caused her to be at odds with the civilian population. Iruka himself had often faced the same ridicule and scorn, but what Shinaka faced was worse.

There was a certain darkness about her that many shinobi talked about. With no one to teach her how to properly control her bloodline ability she often gave into her instincts and lost control.

While they were weary with her from the begging, they became terrified of her a few years ago.

There was an incident on Naruto's seventh birthday, the same day of the Kyuubi festival. He had heard a child screaming out from down the street and ran towards the sound. As a new teacher, his instincts shouted at him to find the child. He sprinted down the street as the screams got louder. As he ran past he saw villagers scattered on the ground nursing various injuries. Many were deep and were going to scar, but none appeared life threatening. The degree of injury got worse the closer he got to the screaming, along with a deep reverberating sound.

As he turned a corner he saw several people scattered outside a dark alley. Quickly he knelt beside the nearest man and checked his pulse. It was weak, due to blood loss as he noticed the jagged stumt just above where the man's lower leg was meant to be. The other bodies were just as mangled; a few with deep gashes, others with chunks bitten out of their flesh, as if they had been attacked by a large animal.

After wrapping a bandage from his shinobi vest around the wound in a tourniquet to stop the bleeding he peered into the alleyway. It was barely lit by a hanging streetlight, flowing into the darkness and illuminating a dark figure crouched over the body of a weeping and injured child. Iruka approached slowly in a crouch to get a better look. As his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting he encountered a large Fox. Its fur was a dark, iridescent black. With streaks of light blue running down its back and coating the tip of its tail.

It was facing away from him, slowly staggering towards an injured Naruto. He was lying on the ground, one bloodied arm curled around a gash in his stomach the other over his head as he whimpered in pain.

The fox stumbled closer, shaking its head as if it was walking in a daze. It kept knocking into the narrow grey walls, the closer it got the more it staggered as if trying to shake something from its head.

Iruka slowly moved sideways slowly until he could see the fox's eye. Its eyes were a dark purple that deepened as it glared harder at the boy laying in front of it. They shined with an ethereal glow, the pupils were in stark contrast; black, like a starless sky. Blood smeared the Fox's fur, but it was darkest around its paws and maw. Its mouth pulled back over gleaming fangs dripping with blood as it growled out. Realizing how close it was to Naruto, Iruka ran suddenly to its right and delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of its head.

Its head flicked to the side with the force of his kick, before turning to him. Its glare deepened, and it growled louder. He rolled away just as its teeth clamped together above him, but he was not quick enough as a stray fang caught the fabric on his vest. The fox flung its head and sent him crashing into the brick wall behind Naruto.

The hit knocked the breath out of him and his vision swam. Through the murkiness he saw the fox prowl closer, eyes growing hazy as it focused back on Naruto who lay before him. He was too dizzy to get up. He and Naruto could only watch as the creature grew closer to them.

When it was close enough that he could smell its rancid breath a dog-masked anbu appeared behind it. Surprisingly when the anbu approached with soft whispered words the fox did not attack, only looked at him with an almost pleading look. When the Anbu had got close enough it delivered a swift hit laced with chakra to the back of the fox's neck, knocking it unconscious. As it fell it slowly shifted into the form of a white-haired female. One he later recognized to be Shinaka. The dog-masked Anbu picked up the bloody girl while a weasel masked Anbu had picked up a shocked Naruto, who looked at the girl with wide betrayed eyes. Naruto let out a sob and turned his face into the person holding him as the two anbu sushined away.

* * *

She was not trusted by many shinobi or civilians, but the Hokage still allowed her to live after the incident. While Iruka knew it was her, no one truly knew as he and the anbu were the only ones to see the transformation back into a human. But many of the villagers were convinced she was the creature due to her affiliation with Naruto and the form she took.

When the villagers were asked if they had seen her turn into the fox no one admitted they did, they only saw a fox running out of the forest after Naruto.

Iruka never found out the reason for her turning into that monster, but he knew her enough to know she would never willingly hurt Naruto, who she viewed as a younger brother. He also trusted Naruto who, despite being attacked by her, forgave her and still considered her as one of his most precious person.

After that Shinaka had been given the name Nogitsune, an evil kitsune, which like many other kitsunes could change their shapes and were known as trickster spirits.

Shinaka grew to like the name and it was even in her ninja records, such as Kakashi's copycat ninja title. She said the name reminded her of a promise she once made, but she never told him what the promise was. And if she was anything like Naruto she would never go back on her word, in fact he was pretty sure Naruto got it from her.

She also told him, "a name does not make a person so there is no reason to fear it. I will bear the name if it keeps my family safe. Plus, I kind of like it; pretty bad ass huh." She had laughed after saying that. Her and Naruto were just so similar at times.

After hearing of his assistant, many parents, civilian and shinobi alike, attempted to force the Hokage to stop Shinaka from going. The Hokage refused, Shinaka was no threat to the children, she never attacked children or those close to her after the incidentS. After the Hokage's refusal many parents attempted to withdraw their children, but their children would fail the grade for the class and if their scores were not high enough they could end up repeating as the survival was forty percent towards their final score.

A few still took their children from the academy, their fear far outweighing any reason.

Iruka was brought out of his musing by a knock on his classroom door. He shuffled a few papers on his desk. "Come in."

"Konnichiwa, Iruka-san." Shinaka said bowing as she entered. "You sent for me?"

Shinaka's entrance made him suspicious of why she did not enter through the window like she had been doing the last couple of days. Iruka thought it was because the other times she was trying to show off. "I just wanted to go over a few things before we left for the forest tomorrow."

"Of course. What would you like to go over?"

"Is there anything I should be worried about specifically. I know you already told me of some of the dangers but is there anything you may have missed or any new occurrences?"

Shinaka came around and leaned against the side of his desk. She had changed in to more civilian clothing, consisting of an orange T-shirt and blue pants. "No. I made sure you were in a safer part of the forest, but it still has a few challengers that were accepted by you and the Hokage. I will just be there to make sure nothing too dangerous enters the area and to help out if need be." She looked down at the ground and seemed to shuffle for a bit.

Shinaka kicked the toe of her sandal on the ground before looking up. A guilty expression on her face. "Iruka. I'm sorry about some of the students being pulled from the camp because of me."

Iruka wondered how Jonins could go from being so close guarded on missions, to being completely different outside of them. He had seen how emotionless she was when on a mission, but outside of that she often wore her emotions on her sleeve.

"It's not your fault. The parents are just cautious, and if you were truly a threat to the children the Hokage would bar you from coming." Iruka consoled.

Shinaka looked at him with a calculating look, her head tilted like a dog when confused. "How can you be so trusting and accepting of me? You saw what happened all those years ago, I still don't fully trust myself." A dark look had entered her eyes, sorrow and anger at her actions from the past.

"It's because you feel remorse and horror for what you experienced which allows me to trust you, along with Naruto's forgiveness for you. Demons don't feel those emotions, they would not care about hurting others or continue to earn the respect of others after the harm and abuse inflicted on them." Iruka consoled.

Shinaka stared at him for a long while before breaking his gaze and walking to the door. Before closing it, when Iruka had turned back to his desk, she whispered so softly that he almost missed it "I'm not sure if I'm not a demon. You shouldn't too." When he turned back around she quickly schooled her face into a wide grin and bid goodnight.

Iruka watched as she left, perhaps he was not supposed to hear what she said after all.

* * *

 **A/N A dark turn this chapter, but I needed to clear a few things up about the title of my story and the reason behind some of the scorn from the villages. As always R &R**


	6. Chapter 6: Survival: Shelter

**Chapter 6- Survival: Shelter**

Shinaka lead the way through the forest on the edge of Konoha. The morning air was cool with a fresh morning breeze. Around them the forest was alive with chirping birds and the rustling of leaves. The students walking behind her happily chatted about the trip, while a few complained about the biting insects flying around in swarms. One girl screamed and ran past her when they brushed against an old cobweb.

Shinaka sneezed as she took a deep breath, the wildflowers of spring masked many of the scents in the forest. She would need to be extra careful in safeguarding the students. The village was peaceful after the war and the kyuubi attack, but you could never let your guard down, the world was far from peace.

"Hey onee-chan, are we close to where we're going?" Naruto said walking next to her. He was up the front, used to these woods as much as she was. She often saw him in the forest. Being excluded from many of the shops in town meant he often came into the forest for food. She often joined him, teaching him how to hunt and find the secrets hidden in the forest. She wished he could live with her, but the village council wouldn't let her, wouldn't let anyone.

"Soon. Have to take you far enough that you won't sneak into the village for food or supplies." She replied. She jumped over a fallen tree, helping Naruto over as well. "Did you bring what I told you to bring? And I told you no Ramen."

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I brought exactly what I was meant to." Though the way he was staring sidelong away from her, told her that he was lying. She decided to let it slip, if he was smart enough to sneak it without her knowing he could have it. If she caught him eating it however she would not let him go out for ramen for a week.

She looked behind her to see Iruka at the back. He was scanning the vine covered trees intensively, keeping an avid eye out for any dangers. He was a good teacher and cared deeply for his students, but he could be too cautious sometimes. The children need to learn how to look after themselves, so they can look after the village when they are older. That is what the academy was training them for.

Shinaka looked down at Naruto, who was walking with his hands behind his head an indication of how relaxed he was. Perhaps a little protection is not too bad.

She saw Choji trotting along next to Iruka, his backpack easily double the size of the other students. The teacher caught him when Choji tripped over a root. He toppled easily due to the bag weighing him down. "I told you to only bring what was necessary." Iruka scolded the young boy.

"I did. I need enough snacks to stay fed, so I brought double, so I wouldn't go hungry." Choji huffed face red with exertion.

"Baka, we're going to go hunting later. You didn't need to bring enough food for every meal." Ino said beside him, shaking her head.

"Yeah, and I'm going to catch the biggest deer out there. Dattebayo." Naruto yelled out pointing a figure as he turned around to face them.

"As if you could dobe. You couldn't even catch a rabbit if you wanted to." Sasuke retorted. Several girls laughed at Naruto as he said that causing him to go flying towards Sasuke with a fist.

But before he could reach the Uchiha, Shinaka grabbed the back of his orange jacket, holding him above the ground as they walked.

"Let me go Onee-Chan! Let me go." Naruto growled out as he struggled in her grasp like a kitten caught by its mother.

"Only when you calm down." Shinaka said, easily carrying his small body as they neared the campsite. Maneuvering him around the branches along the game trail path.

"Fine." Naruto huffed. She placed him down on the ground. He crossed his arm as he pouted about being carried so easily.

"At least with your experience you can show everyone else what Naruto Uzumaki can do out here." She said rubbing his head. He groaned and shook her hand off.

"Yeah. I'll show them dattebayo!" He yelled jumping up and down.

They soon arrived at a clearing, where they could hear the thundering roar of a waterfall nearby that lead to a river flowing just beyond the first layer of trees. The birds were chirping loudly, letting Shinaka know that there were no predators in the immediate vicinity. She would still do a quick patrol once the kids had safely set up their shelters.

"Iruka-sensei why couldn't we just bring a tent like other Shinobi on missions?" Shikamaru complained as he collapsed on the edge of the forest. Shinaka could see that he really needed to work on his stamina, he may be the smartest out of the academy students, but he was a lazy genius.

The others sat down around him, setting their heavy bags down beside them with tired sighs. The grass was soft. Frequent grazing left it short so that it only reached a few inches above her ankle.

"Sometimes you might lose your tent, so it is best to teach you how to build a shelter out of what's around you in a controlled setting." Iruka explained. He walked further out into the middle of the clearing and after turning around in a circle to inspect the campsite he turned towards the weary children. "Ok everyone I will choose a partner for you and I want you and your partner to make a shelter for you to share. Shinaka and I will be here to help you, but only if you need it."

The kids groaned in unison, not wanting to get up after the three hour long walk.

After receiving their partners each pair of students split off to find wood for their shelter. Each pair had a small blade to cut branches off trees. Kunai were the most useful tool for a shinobi, but they could not cut through wood as easily as some other blades.

Shinaka sat down and talked to Iruka as the students wondered off. "You chose a good spot Shinaka. It looks pretty safe around here and there is plenty of trees for wood." Iruka elaborated.

"It's not a very new spot. My sensei once brought my class here. The grass used to be a bit longer back then. It always came up to our shoulders when we were genin. I chose it because it's far enough away that none of the kids can sneak back to the village without getting lost." Shinaka replied. "We need to be careful. If we get caught in the deer's feeding ground at the wrong time they might try to drive us out. But that shouldn't be for a few more weeks."

Shinaka looked at the sun high in the sky, enjoying her time with Iruka away from hostility. Out here with the lack of adult anger she didn't have to worry about feeding off the negative emotions around her. It was nice to just relax and let her tight control of her emotions go. The air was shimmering with the midday heat, but the breeze was cool. Around them there were signs that the summer was ending. It could be seen in the sporadic colors of red, yellow and brown indisposed between the green leaves of the surrounding trees.

* * *

An hour later the first pair to come back with an armful of wood were Naruto and Hinata. It was Shinaka's idea to pair them together after seeing the way Hinata looked at Naruto. As she expected Naruto was blind to Hinata's obvious affections, choosing rather to divert his attention to Sakura. Shinaka knew Naruto had no chance with the pink haired girl, she was too obsessed with the last Uchiha. Shinaka knew that even with how common childhood crushes were, that Sakura's infatuation would develop into something unhealthy. Naruto was too focused on Sakura that he could not see the way Hinata looked at him. The first child to reject the adult's opinions of Naruto and respect him for who he was.

Naruto was talking animatedly to Hinata who was nodding her head occasionally. Her face was red as a tomato, and half hidden in a lavender scarf as she helped Naruto build the shelter. They started with the larger branches. They first stuck three branches, slightly taller than themselves in a loose triangle. They leaned the top towards each other and tied a rope around them. Then they packed the smaller ones in to block out the wind. One of the sides facing away from the wind was open. With a large enough space to make a fire at its base.

Shinaka watched them for a few more minutes, Hinata's face was turning redder by the moment, before leaving them to build their shelter as she moved away from the clearing. Away from where the students were looking for wood she removed her clothes and shifted into a small fox. smaller than the form she protected Naruto in. It wasn't the strongest form to fight off predators, but it was quick and agile. It would be easier to navigate in this form while also staying hidden from the students. In the warm spring air, the fox instincts wanted to sleep. Wanting to be awake when dark started to creep in. She forced the feeling down and moved towards the sound of footsteps.

She may only be able to turn into animals, but they were enough on their own. It may have been easier to turn into a wall or a rock due to their lack of instincts, but they could not move and were not as versatile.

* * *

The first pair she came across was Sakura and Shino. Shino was directing some of his bugs to cut a branch off a fallen tree while Sakura looked on freaked. Shinaka laughed as Sakura shivered when the bugs returned to him. When the bugs had returned Shino turned to face her. Shinaka nodded and when Shino returned it she moved on, shaking her head as Sakura remained unaware she was even there or of Shino's actions.

Next, she found Ino, Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba working together to cut the branches of a small tree. Well at least Choji, Ino and Kiba were, Shikamaru was laying in the shade of a tree opposite the trio.

"Stop lazing around and help us Shikamaru." Ino kicked his feet, but he just rolled over on his side.

"Too much work." He groaned. He brought his arm over his eyes to block out the sun.

"I don't care. Get up." Ino angrily said. She looked around for a moment until her eyes landed on a ball of fur on Kiba's head. With a mischievous smile she approached the dog and boy. After picking up the puppy she stared into the puppy's eyes and said sweetly, "Hey Akamaru do you want to do me a favor?" The dog whined in confusion, tail and ears lowered at her look.

Kiba snatched Akamaru back and held him above his head, out of her reach. "Hey leave him alone. Do whatever you need to do without him."

"Fine." She huffed turning back to Shikamaru. She kneeled and pulled sharply on his ear until he shot up with a yell.

"NANI!" Shikamaru swatted the hand away and clutched his red and throbbing ear. "You didn't have to do that."

"Yes, I did." Ino huffed. She got up and dusted her pants off mumbling about lazy Nara's. She turned walked over to the pile of wood she had collected and dumped it in Shikamaru's lap. "Now carry these for me or I'll promise worse punishment."

"Troublesome blond." Shikamaru muttered, but with a stern gaze from Ino he got up with the pile of sticks and walked with the group out of Shinaka's sight.

 **A/N: 6th chapter edited.**


	7. Chapter 7- Survival: Predators

**Disclaimer- I do not and will never own Naruto. Only the characters created within my story.**

 _Thinking_

"Talking"

 ** _"_** **Monster/animal talking** ** _"_**

 **"** ** _Telepathic talking_** **"**

* * *

 **Chapter 7- Survival: Predators**

Shinaka found Sasuke walking by himself carrying armfuls of wood that she was sure was too heavy for him. She had seen him paired with a mousy-brown haired girl with circular glasses called Kia, but she was nowhere near him. Shinaka mentally kept track of his direction as she searched for the missing girl. It was starting to get late, and while the forest may be safe there were still hidden dangers in the dark.

She considered bringing Sasuke back first as she knew where he already was, but he was already travelling back to camp, so she decided she would look for his partner first. Shinaka followed one of the scents lingering on Sasuke to a pile of twisted roots deeper towards the denser parts of the forest. Shinaka started to worry, if the girl had wondered too far into the forest she was more likely to be in danger by the predators within the trees.

Shinaka travelled on the interconnecting branches of the trees until she found the girl about half a mile from the border of thorn bushes that marked the edge of the safer part of this forest. They had been planted years ago to deter many of the large predators from getting too close to where humans would most likely to be, long before Shinaka was born.

Sasuke's partner sat on the ground clutching her left ankle, Shinaka couldn't tell if it was sprained or possibly broken but her painful sobs where attracting dangerous attention. From her vantage point on a low branch she could see a tiger slowly moving its way towards the girl. It was small, possibly a juvenile, explaining why it was out this far. The older ones tempted to stay deeper in the forest away from human attention.

Before the tiger could leap at the girl something hit his side causing both of them to roll towards the girl. When they split apart the tiger saw another, larger, tiger standing in front of him. It was a large white and black female growling at him. The female moved until it stood in front of the girl, blocking his access to the human cub.

He growled at the interference with his hunt and swiped at the female's maw with retracted claws; a warning to back away. The female growled deeper and leaned downwards as her fur stood up creating the illusion that she was bigger than she first appeared. This scared the male slightly as the female looked ready to pounce and could do considerable damage to him, but he got cocky from getting the first hit in and got into a defensive display. **"I am not backing down."** He told her with his ears flat against his skull, teeth bared, eyes narrowing into thin black slits and lowering his tail. **"You interrupted my hunt, and I will make you understand not to interfere with my hunt."** The male further growled out. The male scented the air further and crouched down further in anger. **"And why do you have a human scent mingling with yours. Are you a pet to these humans."** He said mockingly.

It was weird understanding animal language, knowing they tended to use their body more often and in different ways to humans to communicate, not just sound.

Shinaka ignored the tigers insult, it meant nothing to her. The tiger sprang forward knocking Shinaka backwards. He pushed down on her chest, the weight making it harder to breath. As black spots started appearing in her vision she brought her back paws beneath her and kicked him back. She twisted onto her front and spun around, leaping forward she knocked the male to the right with a shoulder thrust.

The male twisted as she landed on him and tried to rake across her side, but she jumped backwards. As the male leaped at her she rolled out of the way, closer to the human girl. Realising they were too close Shinaka moved away, growling to keep the tiger's attention on her. The tiger turned to face her as she circled to his left. When Shinaka came behind him, the tiger whirled and striked out at the girl leaving three long red stripes along her arm. It would have been worse if Shinaka had not have pulled the tiger back with her claws on his hips.

Shinaka rammed her head into the male's shoulder before he could attack again. He was knocked onto his side and she landed on his back leg, breaking it. She placed her right paw on his neck and dug her claws in as he mewled with pain. **"How does it feel to be defeated by a pet. If you think I am weak then how does it feel to be defeated by me."** her claws dug deeper into his neck until Shinaka could smell blood. **"Now return to the safety of the forest. If I see you here again I will kill you."**

The male growled and shifted onto his back, exposing his softer belly. Shinaka recognized this as a posture of submission and eased her claw from his neck. She backed away until she was in front of the girl, acting as a barrier between her and the male. The male took one last look at her and the child before retreating deeper into the forest.

Shinaka stayed crouched until she could neither smell or hear him anymore. She turned around to the girl who stared at her in fear. Shinaka debated shifting to help the girl back to the campsite, but she was worried that would scare the kid more. The children in the village had picked up on their parent's hatred of her, but they did not know what her ability was. She knew the girl in front of her was sure she was just an ordinary tiger. She decided she would try and convince the girl she was a summoned animal.

Shinaka lay on her belly and slowly crept forward, stopping when the girl flinched, moving when the girl relaxed again. Soon she was close enough to nudge the kid's arm over her head, encouraging the girl to pat her head. As the girl slowly ran her fingers through the fur between her ears, Shinaka inspected the gash on the girl's arm. The wound was bleeding, it didn't look like any major arteries had been cut but the wound still needed to be cleaned and bandaged.

Slowly Shinaka nudged the girl and gestured with her head for the girl to climb on her back. The girl first shook her head taking a step back, but the pressure she put on her injured ankle caused her to whimper slightly. Shinaka approached the girl and crouched down beside her, nudging the child until the girl clambered on her back. She held tightly on the scruff around Shinaka's neck as the tiger moved slowly through the forest, back towards camp.

Before she reached the clearing she stopped and called out towards Iruka. **"Iruka, I've got an injured student on my back with gashes on her arm and a sprained, possibly broken, ankle. Im north-east of you. The scratches aren't too bad, I just want her wound to be bandaged so it doesn't get infected."** The words wouldn't have been as loud as she wanted due to her distance from him, but she didn't want any of the other kids to freak out when they saw the tiger.

Soon Iruka arrived and picked up the girl bridal style. "Thank you Shinaka. Go get changed and I'll meet you back at camp."

Shinaka nodded and moved to the right of the clearing to collect her clothes. The sudden shift into the tiger and the fight leaving her with the desire to take a short rest.


	8. Chapter 8- Survival: Teammates

**Disclaimer- I do not and will never own Naruto. Only the characters created within my story.**

 _Thinking_

"Talking"

 ** _"_** **Monster/animal talking _"_**

 **" _Telepathic talking_ "**

 **Chapter 8- Survival: Teammates**

 **A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed. I think I'm going to start replying to a few reviews to see how it goes.**

 **BookwormStrawberry: Thanks for standing up for me. It's great to know you like the story so far. Hopefully I can continue to impress.**

 **Gilyflower: Don't worry Sasuke has what's coming to him in the form of his worst nightmare. I really hate how stuck up Sasuke is. Saying that I don't think he is bad, just blinded by his deire for power and revenge.**

* * *

As the sun started to set Shinaka approached Sasuke's campsite. He managed to create his shelter without his partner, but that was not what he was supposed to do. Shinaka could feel her anger rise as he showed no concern for his injured classmate. The students stopped to stare as Shinaka marched towards the Uchiha. "Do you think it's right to abandon your partner and allow her to get hurt?" She called, an aura of purple mist surrounding her, sending students scurrying out of her path.

"She was slowing me down." Sasuke said lifting a shoulder. He placed the tools in his hand down and turned to face her. "She shouldn't even be in the academy if she can't even look after herself." He sneered towards where Iruka was bandaging the girls arm.

Shinaka growled as she picked him up by the front of his shirt. Shoving him against the side of a tree she saw a quick flash of fear before he covered it again with a bored look. "Not against a wild animal several times her size and weight. I have half a mind to take you deeper into the forest and leave you there to see how you would fare against a tiger, or whatever else may be roaming in there. And I can tell you, there are creatures in there that will make a fully-grown tiger look like a house kitten. But you know what Konoha shinobi do not abandon or cause harm to a teammate. So, go over and apologize to the girl, or I'll show just how dangerous an animal can be. Do you understand me?"

Many of the girls behind her where shouting at her to let their Sasuke-kun go. Fangirls who believed his status and cold behavior to swoon over how 'mysterious' and 'cool' he was.

Out of sight of the students she turned her eyes into slits and allowed her canines to lengthen until she looked more animal that human. She heard bark crack as she pushed him harder into the tree. She kept pushing until Sasuke looked towards the ground, not meeting her eyes. Shinaka knew his pride would be hurt at his submission. She knew he would not reply to her, his desire to be strong stopping him from showing any sign of weakness.

She didn't let go though, wanting him to feel ashamed. "I said did you hear me?" She growled inhumanly. Sasuke nodded tensely. She let go and allowed gravity to deposit him on the ground. Sasuke stood up and dusted off his clothes as he glared at his injured partner. When he didn't move she pulled out a kunai and started twirling it as she popped her hip. This spurred him into movement.

She heard him mutter sorry in an irked tone, not meaning his apology in the slightest. It was enough to appease the girl however. "There's no reason to be sorry Sasuke-kun. It was my fault entirely, I should of known the way back." Shinaka swore she could see stars in the girls eyes as the girl talked to Sasuke. _Great another one of his fangirls._

Sasuke did not stay there for long as he soon turned away and walked back towards his shelter. Smirking at Shinaka as if to say _"I told you it wasn't my fault."_

Shinaka smirked back, knowing his pride was still wounded for having to apologize, a sign many often saw as weakness. "I guess now that your partner is injured, she cannot build her own shelter." She smiled, and half closed her eyes with mischievous look. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the look she sent him. They widened comically when he saw her turn towards Iruka and say in an innocent and curious tone. "Hey Iruka-san, don't you think that because Sasuke was the reason that she was hurt, that he should be the one to look after her for the remainder of the camp. It would be a good lesson to show him how to look after an injured teammate while on a mission." 

"You're right Shinaka. Thanks for the suggestion." Sasuke glared murderously at her as Iruka continued. "It would be a good idea for him to look after her." Iruka lead the girl towards Sasuke and said sternly to the young boy. "Ok, she won't be able to hunt tomorrow so you will need to stay behind and keep an eye on her while the rest of us do the hunting." A look of utter horror passed over his face causing her to chuckle loudly. "Now don't worry, I will make sure we bring back some of our catches back so you guys can have some, but unfortunately you will not be able to hunt with the rest of the class." Iruka finishes, misinterpreting his look of horror as worry that he will not get something to eat.

She saw the moment he realized that the girl would slow him down even more as Kia would need her precious Sasuke-kun to take care of her. He would need to so things for her because Kia would not be able to use her injured arm, in case the cut got worse.. It also meant he would lose the chance to do some of the survival training. Especially the hunting, which would also help when a Shinobi must track down a target and either capture or assassinate them without being spotted.

Iruka left the pair along, not noticing how Sasuke practically dragged the girl back towards his shelter. Many of the girl around her groaned and whined that another girl had the chance to be looked after by Sasuke-kun. Some where even whispering that she was only faking her injury to spend time with the boy.

Shinaka rolled her eyes. The drama the children faced had nothing on the real world. Where to survive they may need to tail, capture, manipulate or even worse, kill their target. If they ever got a shinobi as a boyfriend or girlfriend they would have the constant worry that one day their partner would never be coming back home. Shinaka had seen so may shinobi and civilians lose loved ones, many killed in far off lands where their body would never be found or returned to be buried properly.

Shinaka still struggled over the death of Obito, Rin, Kushina, Minato and countless others that had died during the war and the Kyuubi attack. She looked towards Naruto who was talking adamantly to Shikamaru and Kiba, teaching them how to build a sound, waterproof shelter. Because of the world they lived in Naruto would never get to meet his mother and father. Would never know parental love, or how it feels to have parents proud of your accomplishments. Shinaka though back to her own childhood. She at least got to know her parents before they were killed. Naruto would never have that chance.

No. If the students graduated they would need to grow up quick, or they will be killed before they had a chance to grow into adults. Real life is a lot worse than anything the children would face in school.

* * *

 **A/N: Ha ha ha ha ha. Sasuke is stuck with a fangirl and will get less training. Hope you like this chapter, sorry again for the late update. As always R &R**


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